After both Colin Firth and Matthew Macfadyen confessing that they have never read P&P, it is just so good to hear RA talk about how much he loved the book and that he read it before he went to the casting... Such a humble man, who gives the 100% of himself to what he is doing.

His acting in North & South was so real, I really believed in the characters portrayal of their feelings. Play more period dramas please!

I never thought I could love a romantic hero as much as Darcy. Finally I watched North and South. I absolutely loved Thornton and the series.

If I had my way he would play both Mr. Darcy and Mr. Rochester. He is perfect for their roles. Dark, tall, flawed and broody.

This completely perfect man deserves an Oscar for his acting. Seriously. It's a wonder how none of the big films have asked for him. I would. :)

Mrs. Gaskell could not find a better man to represent "their man". Richard is truly John Thornton. Forever!

He was the perfect man for this part! He played it to the nines! Tremendous!!!!! I will forever be a fan!

Richard ARMITAGE is absolutely amazing and that's a gorgeous voice !

I have to say that since viewing N&S, I will never be the same again. RA was born to play John Thornton. I can't get enough of him.

North and South is one of my favorite love stories. The best scene for me was the last scene at the railroad station. I wish they'd do a sequel.

How sexy is that voice....*faints*

I think he will be a great Mr. Darcy because of the wide range of emotions he is able to show just through his eyes and voice. Elizabeth and Darcy don't have many interactions with each other so a lot of emotions (from Darcy) has to be conveyed very subtlety. Judging from Richard Armitage's performance in North and South, I think he's more than capable of doing that. He will give Mr. Darcy's character such depth.

Wow, he really puts a lot of work into his role. Quite admirable...I think the effort shows in his performance!

Richard Armitage is a great actor, great speaker. He’s very educated and of course very very handsome. I loved his work in north and south. I loved him as Thorin I liked him better than Aragon(not sure of spelling ) in lord of the rings. He’s underrated compared to how talented he is. I’m a huge fan!!!

I can say that a good 10 years on, my teenage crush on him is still alive and kicking

I love that as Thornton and Guy of Gisborne he's overbearing and rather threatening when he shouts but in real life (or at least the many interviews that I have seen) he's very soft spoken and gentile!

Great actor! and handsome too! :D

Oh my...after hearing this voice I need some fresh air...

Was very surprised that I have neither heared of "North & South" nor "Armitage", until this year!! I am glad that my first encounter with the story was the Armitage version and my first encounter with Armitage was North & South. He said all my favourite scenes!! All I need to find are concentrated in them. Mr. Thornton is the equivalent of both Mr. Rochester and Mr. Darcy for me. Although my favourite Mr. Rochester was-and still is- Timothy Dalton, and Matthew Macfadyen as Darcy, I definitely thought of Armitage as both Rochester and Darcy! These are my most favourite three gentlemen characters all through out the English literature/drama!! I also have to admit, it will be very hard to find someone who will fill the place of John Thornton other than Armitage. It is definitely his role of a lifetime. Thornton is Armitage and Armitage is Thornton.

Great novel, great movie, great actor...I mean WONDERFUL actor. I watch everything of his. If my book ever becomes a movie, I'd love for him to play the hero. :)

gahhh i could listen to him talk for hours , that voice of his is a turn on!

he's so adorable and knowlegdeable!

This voice is AAA : Attractive, Addictive and Awesome :D I could feel a little trembling in his voice. Maybe he was a bit nervous about this interview, because playing Mr. John Thornton was a great deal. He perfectly pictured out that character and I'm absolutely fond of his perfect acting style. And I find this tremor absolutely cute and attractive.

I love how much attention he pays to historical detail. As a history person, I greatly appreciate it. I think it would be so cool to be a historical consultant on films! Also I really want him to play Mr. Darcy! Is it too late?

OMG he looks so reserved and well mannered and nice!

I think this adaptation lives rent-free in my imagination because of the cast. Richard Armitage will always be Mr. Thornton. And I remember seeing Sinead Cusack in another movie and said, "Oh, my goodness, it's Mrs. Thornton!"

You can see that he has some notes in front of him that he looks at often. His eyes are constantly looking down to the right. I love this man :)

That smile at the end. Too adorable.

We need a sequel!!!

He was a marvelous actor! Brilliant!

He's perfect!

OMG... I love him. His voice and eyes are perfects.

what a wonderful voice he has

Gotta say when he said it was 'a huge mountain to climb' I almost died laughing- I mean he is king under the mountain! Love n&s and no offence to Colin firth but Richard is FAR more gorgeous

It was smart of him because he was picked out of how many actors for the role and would get paid a lot money for his work. He gave Elizabeth Gaskell respect too by reading her work before the adaptation. Then he would make the character how she made him.

I would love to see him be like James McAvoy, another favourite actor that I love. He has stated that although he does alot of Hollywood films, he never wants to move over to the US and live there. He said that he prefers living in England, with his wife. I'd love to see Richard do the same. :)

Que hombre tan guapo!!!! ...handsome!!!

I CANT WAIT OT SEE HIM AS THORIN! I hope this gets him the recognition he deserves! I think all the cast [and crew] of the hobbit will get their recognition boosted up from it, as the hobbit is a life changing film to be a part of!

Richard Armitage id truly an exquisite

I'm soooooo excited!

I agree, unlike so many other actors his age (like Gerard Butler, Heath Ledger, Christian Bale), he has so much personal practical wisdom and seems very down to earth, shy, private sort of man. I love it when guys are like that - but that doesn't mean that those guys can't be exciting. The knowledge he has - is incredible. I could listen to his ideas on history any day. :D

Great show.

such a talented actor and damn gorgeous =D

i agree with you all! he's amazing and i love him and his voice is SEXY!

I am obsessed!

Swooned over Macfadyen and Firth as Darcy before... but they got nothing on Richard Armitage's Thornton!!! His is the most iconic in my book....

He's so adorable. I'd love to see him as Mr.Darcy

Perfect. That all.

I think Mr Thornton is a more accessible character than Darcy... in fact although I love P&P I thought North and South was better:D

He is just 😍😍❤️❤️

He's such a geek! I love it. :D

I know I'm gonna get stoned to death for this but I simply don't get what the fuss with CFirth's Darcy was all about. He's a good actor but with a nasal whiny voice - just not the Darcy I imagined (forbiddingly handsome, aloof etc). And MacFadyen looked mournful most of the time in that other version. But never mind Mr. Darcy. Mr. John Thornton is far more interesting and Richard was perfect in the role.

I second that!

Thanks very much for posting this. I have N&S on dvd but the interview isn't on it unfortunately. But now I can see it anyway! :-D He is so cute isn't he? Makes me watch N&S over & over again...

I agree, I actually enjoy a well-done and lengthy miniseries than a well detailed movie that may miss alot of facts and only lasts for about 2 hours at most. Like I can only watch "Titanic" every once and a while, but the BBC series of "Bleak House" or "North and South" - I can watch them often and never get tired of them.

Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou again ! :-)

Even we he is made to look bad it makes him better looking ;)

Toby Stephens was THE perfect rochester

uh. perfect man is perfect.

i am so ridiculously in love with RA, sigh... ::)

lol, I love his comment at the end of being compared to Darcy, so cute! :)

RA was excellent in the Thornton role but I find it sad that the actor in these romantic films get more of a career boost than do the lead females. I thought Daniele Denby-Ashe was outstanding but it doesn't appear to have led to a great many large parts. She is very good and funny in My Family and I've seen clips of her interesting? role in torchwood here on KZfaq. She deserves more, in my opinion.

He is currently working on season 3 of Robin Hood right now. He was filming Spooks aka MI5 TV show and he will be going back to filming that soon! Spooks will air in the UK in October. He is also trying to get his Richard III project underway so hopefully that will develop! Hope that answers your question! LOL

i recommend that you guys watch the "bringing sexy back " video they made with Armitage,

i totally agree with you!

There are many different ways to portray a character. I think he'd be a great choice to portray Rochester in the 2009 Jane Eyre. (I guess BBC was delightfully surprised at how well the 2007 TV miniseries did that they decided to make a film. ;P)

Thanks :)

btw, HE'S BETTER THAN DARCY FOR ME!!

Basic idea of dislike to like idea's the same--everything else's different.

he's hot and he has a brain... perfect man much?

*Another* BBC Jane Eyre? Wow. Someone here on KZfaq could keep really busy with a Jane Eyre channel here. There have been so many Jane Eyres! Not that I should be complaining. I adored the book. RA, by the way, would be a perfect Rochester.

So far I haven't been able to find this version of N. S. I hope I can

He seems Duran Duran´s vocalist in this interview, I mean the hair,clothes etc

3:28 - "the cravat came off... at a necessary moment *slight smile*" ahaha... which moment would that be, Mr. Armitage?

Me too!

me too.

But at the same time, you can't say that they weren't corrupted by the Hollywood atmosphere in some way. As the old saying "Hollywood is mostly full of liberals". I'm not sure if Richard Armitage is one (I personally hope NOT), but the shy, quiet, regular attitude (without one once of being pompous or arrogant) is just so refreshing to see in him. Most performers can have terrible "ego attacks" but Richard doesn't seem to have any at all. He's so grounded. (I love that about him)

yeah I could probably do that this weekend! :)

This man can do more with his voice than most can do with their hands. ... that is all.

It's available on Netflix - the DVD or for download, as well.

LOL! I totally agree!

He was brilliant! I really saw how much Thorton struggled, to tell you the truth I saw much more emotion in him than her...

Sorry Matthew Macfadyen, but RA and Keira in P&P would have meant two hours of deluxe swooning for me.

I personally hope that he never comes out to live in LA. Its such a corruptive enviroment and has morally destroyed many a people. Plus, I like the idea of Richard staying true to his roots and remaining in England. He has always said he is a "Northern lad" (in reference to growing up in the North of England) and that he prefers being there to anywhere else.

I love N&S. It's one of my favorites! I love Thornton and Darcy. I've seen almost all of Jane Austen's adaptations! She's an amazing author. Anybody knows of another movie/series similar to N&S or Pride and Prejudice?

@luna4ever36 Yup, that would have been fun : Mr Darcy talking to Mr Thorton about ultra confiential files. Imagine them comparing costumes! did you know : Rupert Penry Jones, who played in Spooks in the time between Matthew and Richard, also played in a period drama? He played in Persuasion!

LOL isn't he?! Girl, start watching it! LOL

@loveydovey1ful Well, that is going to soon change ;-) He is cast as Thorin in the Hobbit which is one of the main roles so I think his career is going to take off! It's about time! ;-)

@Kareena1988 No matter what he says it all gets our hearts beating frantically! LOL Even if he is single and not to crush anyones dreams but it's highly unlikely he will end up with any one of us fans. Nothing wrong with daydreaming though. ;-)

@HeathDances its a mistake to tell people hes single, many girls will get heart-attack right now!! *blushing* If he was in mainstream tv, he would be Mr. Universe for the next...100 years=)

@HeathDances you seem to know a lot of details about him. please share the news! i wish he did a thorton like role again... maybe in one of Thomas Hardy's characters. it would suit him well!

@123jellybeanz He's been cast as Thorin in Peter Jackson's The Hobbit!!!

@luna4ever36 Colin Firth didn't even read P&P before being cast as Darcy. And I'm not sure he did afterwards.

You were very arrogant in the North and South which made you perfect for the part and they made you look awesome handsome indeed

@Kareena1988 Well in recent interviews he said he is single, so straight from the man's mouth. ;-) He was in a relationship for awhile but not anymore.

Your welcome! :)

@123jellybeanz He's just been cast in The Hobbut as Thorin!!!

Wait wait wait....what's all this talk about him being Darcy????

@Cresmix Thorin is a dwarf. It has been a long time since I have ready the book, but I think that there is man in that novel named "Beorn". RA is too handsome to play a dwarf. He should have been cast as a human, don't you think?

@rattiegirl5 Beorn isn't really a big part. Thorin will be in the whole movie! Isn't that better? Seeing Richard on the screen almost the whole time? ;-)